Chapter 44: The glory that shall be put upon the Saints at the Great Day

SEcondly, the glory that shall be put upon them at the day of Judgement.

First, the glory of the day it self shall be their glory; for it shall be nothing else, but the solemnity of the marriage of the Lamb: Here there is a contract between the Lamb and his Bride, but the solemnity of the marriage is reserved to that great day, and all the glory of the day shall be to set out the solemnity of it; and God himself shall appear in his glory to make the day glorious. As the Parents upon the marriage day, appear in as much glory as they can, that they may honor the day; so God shall appear in his glory in the solemnizing of the marriage between Christ and his Spouse: And as the Bridegroom comes forth in his glory, so Christ will come in his glory, with all his Angels in their glory. As all the servants of the Bridegroom put on their best array upon the marriage day, so all the Angels shall appear in their lustre and beauty; and this sets out the wonderful glory of the Saints that shall be at that day, notwithstanding all the glory of the Father, and Christ, and the Angels that shall be then, yet they shall not lose their glory. The Stars lose their shining lustre when the Sun rises, because their light is nothing in comparison of the great light; but the lustre of the Saints shall be bright shining and glorious, even in the presence of the glory of the Father, and of Jesus Christ, and of all the blessed Angels.

Great things will be done that day; there will be the Great Supper that God will make for the solemnizing of the Marriage, and the great meeting of the Saints with Christ: O what salutations can you imagine will there be between Christ and his members! and being met, the sentence of Absolution shall be pronounced before men and Angels: Christ shall honor the Saints before all the world, and say, These are they, these are the men for whom the eternal counsels of my Father did work to make them glorious; these are they for whom I came into the world, and shed my blood, and laid down my life; these are they in whom I am to be glorified for ever. Again, the glory of the day shall be in setting of the Saints with Christ upon thrones, in judgement, to judge the whole world, the Monarchs and great ones of the earth; and so to be honored in the eyes of those that were their enemies, and contemned, and reproached them, and vilified them before; and likewise their glory shall be in this, to rejoice in the execution of the sentence that is pronounced upon those that are condemned. Lastly, their glory shall be in their glorious ascension with Christ into the highest heavens, ranked in their comely order, with triumph and joy, singing, Stand open ye gates, and be ye open ye everlasting doors, that the King of glory and all his redeemed ones may come in.

Thirdly, the possession of heaven, the Kingdom of heaven shall be theirs, the heaven of heavens; great things are spoken of that; there are these things considerable in it.

First, it is the third heaven; there is the heaven, that is the space between the visible firmament and the earth; the second heaven is the Orbes in which the Sun, and Moon, and Stars are; and then there is an heaven above them, which is the seat of the blessed, which is of an infinite heighth above all: now it as a sweet confideration for the people of God, when you are going out in the evening, and seeing the firmament spangled with the Stars, to have such thoughts as these, What shall one day this body of mine be lifted up beyond yonder place? Though now you lie low in some dark hole, there is a time when God shall lift you up to be above that spangled firmament; that spangled firmament is but the pavement of your Fathers house, it is but the outside; and if the outside and footstool of Gods house be so glorious, how glorious is it within? how glorions is the presence Chamber? This world is made for Dogs, for the Enemies of God, and those that are more vile then any creatures: he does not think much to have swine live here, but you do not suffer swine to come into the presence Chamber, or into the Dining-room: now heaven is the presence Chamber and Diningroom, for that eternal feast to be solemnized in, and that must needs be glorious.

Secondly, it is called our Fathers house: This is not our Fathers house; though we should be caught up where the Stars are, that is not our Father house, that is but the out-room: Says Christ, In my Fathers house there are many Mansions: God was from all eternity a heaven to himself, before the world was; then he created the highest heavens to be the place of his presence, not that he is comprehended there, but that he would have a place for his glory more fully to shine in.

Again, it is a place prepared from the beginning of the world, and Christ is gone to prepare it for us: If there were such a building here, that all the men of the world had been building from the beginning of the world, and they had all the pearls and jewels of the world to set into it, and all the inventions and strength of men and Angels to help them to build, it would be glorious, but in comparison it is but a dungeon to this. The brightness of this is exceeding glorious, says Chrysostom; when you see a sumptuous pallace, you look upon it, and are taken with it, but it is but as a dungeon to your Fathers house.

The light of that shall be of another nature then the light of the world; the light that we have here is a material light, but the whole body of heaven is of an higher nature then the body of the Sun; and there shal be such a glorious presence of God, as there shall need no Sun, Moon and Stars to enlighten it; and then with the brightness of the body of Christ, and the brightness of the bodies of the Saints, there shall be a glorious lustre.

And for the large extent of it: the lowest heavens are but as a prick of the center, in comparison to the starry heaven; and the starry heaven is but as a prick of the center, to the highest heaven. Men boast here, if they have but a few clods of land; as Socrates put a scorn upon Alcebiades that boasted of his lands, he brought him to the Map of the whole world, and prayed him to show them there, and there was not one prick vouchsafed for them in it: What is a little land to a country? and what is a country to the world? and the world is but as a prick to the lowest heaven, and the lowest heaven is but as a prick to the starry heaven, and the starry heaven is but as a prick to the highest heaven, and the Saints shall possess all that. You that have no possessions here, know there is a possession hereafter, that is more then if you had all the Lands in the world.

Besides, it is of an incorruptible nature, it is an inheritanceincorruptible: The reason why the heavens, and so the soul is incorruptible, is because it is not made out of pre-existing principles; it was made out of nothing, and nothing but an infinite power can annihilate a thing, as well as make a thing out of nothing. Much is said of that place for the description of it, Jerusalem was but a Type of it, and the Land of Canaan was but a Type of it, and Paradise was but a Type of this glorious place, that is provided for the Saints of God. Let us therefore raise up our hearts to consider of this. And as we read in Gen. 13. 14, 15. where God showed to Abraham the Land of Canaan, says God, look Northward, and Southward, and Eastward, and Westward; for all the land which you seest, to you will I give it, and to your seed: So consider the vastness of the Heavens, and the exceeding extent of them, and consider this is the Inheritance of the Saints.

We know we have an abiding, eternal inheritance; our bodies shall abide eternally, and the Heavens themselves are eternal: this should quiet our hearts, when we finde any discontent in our habitations: it is no matter in what Countrey we are here, there is a glorious Countrey we are going to; Christ our elder Brother is already gone, and has taken possession of Heaven for us: as if so be there were some great inheritance did befal you here, and you cannot go to possess it; and if you hear one is there for you, who has taken quiet possession for you, and you shall be sent for in time convenient; will you not be content? So we are not fitted for Heaven, but Christ is gone before to take possession; and within a while we shall go and live with him. The earth is too mean a place for the Saints, and yet the world is not worthy of the Saints of God in a mean condition; then the world shall not be worthy of the Saints in their glorious condition; and therefore there must be a place above the world.

Yet know, Heaven is not enough for the Saints: the Saints of God are of such spiritual raised spirits, as that they cannot be satisfied with any thing, but God himself. Suppose God should cause all the Emperors and Kings of the world, to come and cast down their Crowns before the Saints, and say, All these are yours: An heart that is truly raised, would say, This is not enough, this is not God himself. Suppose God should bring all the splendors of all the creatures in heaven and earth, and they should be cast at the feet of the Saints, they would say, This is not enough, for this is not God. Suppose God should cause all the glory of heaven, not only of Sun, Moon and Stars, but of the highest heaven, to be laid before the Saints, they would say, This is not enough, this is not God. If all the Angels should come, and say, We are sent to put all our glory upon you, they would say, This is not enough, this is not God; and therefore when God has given them heaven, he must give them himself to, or else they are not happy: And that is the fourth thing.